Livestock Marketing Council
Livestock market operators and order buyers discuss GIPSA activities and beef quality assurance for transportation.

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (Feb. 3, 2005) — Updates regarding insurance and legal liability were presented during the Feb. 3 meeting of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Livestock Marketing Council during the 2005 Cattle Industry Annual Convention in San Antonio. Members consist of livestock market operators and order buyers. However, a majority of discussion stemmed from reports on the Grain Inspection and Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) activities and plans to launch a Transportation Beef Quality Assurance Program.

GIPSA legal specialist Brett Offutt explained the outcome of a suit filed by the Organization for Competitive Markets and two livestock auction companies. The legal action came in response to GIPSA regulations prohibiting the plaintiff’s plan to establish a checkoff-type collection to be withheld from proceeds when cattle were sold at auction markets.

According to Offutt, collections were being made without the required written authorization by sellers. The plaintiffs alleged that their program should be exempted under the same provisions that apply to the current national beef checkoff. A Nebraska court dismissed the case.

Offutt addressed the practice by some auction markets of charging added fees for late payment by buyers of cattle. GIPSA, he said, has determined that the practice is legal under the Packers and Stockyards Act.

Reported by NCBA staffer Gary Cowman was the effort to create an education initiative to promote beef quality assurance (BQA) practices for handling and transportation of livestock.

“From now until June, we’ll be developing guidelines for best management practices related to transportation. NCBA has been urged by representatives of all industry segments to move on this issue. It will be an addition to current programs under the Beef Quality Assurance Advisory Board,” Cowman explained. “It’s not just a program for truckers. It is an effort to provide education to producers and anyone else involved in cattle transportation.”


— by Troy Smith, field editor, Angus Productions Inc.
© Copyright 2005 Angus Productions Inc.

Editor’s Note: This article was written under contract or by staff of Angus Productions Inc. (API), which claims copyright to this article. It may not be published or distributed without the express permission of Angus Productions Inc. To request reprint permission and guidelines, contact Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, at (816) 383-5270 or shermel@angusjournal.com.